


Glazed and Fired

by stargazercmc



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-09-05
Updated: 2006-09-05
Packaged: 2017-10-07 05:30:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/61881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stargazercmc/pseuds/stargazercmc
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>The first time John Sheppard expects his team to lie to Elizabeth Weir, they are amused.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Glazed and Fired

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first SGA fic and originated from a prompt by [](http://chasingkerouac.livejournal.com/profile)[**chasingkerouac**](http://chasingkerouac.livejournal.com/), "Five Missions John Sheppard's Team Swore Never To Tell Weir All About." I've taken some liberties with the initial prompt, and it ended up being much longer than your typical 5 Things meme-fic. Thanks to [](http://surreallis.livejournal.com/profile)[**surreallis**](http://surreallis.livejournal.com/) for the beta. Spoilers for "Hot Zone."

The first time John Sheppard expects his team to lie to Elizabeth Weir, they are amused.

~_~_~_~_~_~

A table with fruit sits under the moonlight, but all Teyla wants to do is clean up and change into dry clothes. The chill of the marsh is settling into her skin and she can feel heat radiating from the top of her head. She knows that soon she'll be shivering.

Luckily, the town leaders know the group is coming. Religious beliefs forbid the townspeople to allow strangers to rest indoors overnight, but they make a concession by keeping a fire in the center of the settlement. Teyla fills her pot from a nearby well while Aiden and Rodney prepare the makeshift campsite. Looking for John, she sees him check out the nearby market tents as he skims the perimeter.

He walks back over as she dips her cloth into the hot water. "Anything of interest?" she asks.

"About what I expected. I don't see anyone out here," John says. "Except us, that is. Is it just me, or does it seem a bit rude to make us rough it with so many places to stay?" He moves closer to the fire as Ford joins the group.

Teyla glances up as she wipes muck from her arms. She imagines that John's mood has not been improved by the hike from the jumper.

"At least they left food for us," says Rodney. He grabs a handful of what appear to be grapes from the table nearby. "Of course, we probably could have eaten before we left if you wouldn't have been in such a hurry to get away from Elizabeth."

Sheppard glares. Ignoring McKay, Teyla says, "I saw the market tents. Was there anything over there that might be worth a trade?"

"Standard fare," he says. "Baskets. Pottery. Handwoven rugs. The usual." She nods. Despite their few travels through the gate, Teyla knows Sheppard has seen enough small settlements to know that the local economy can give them tactical information. Towns like this one generally offer few surprises.

"So what did you do to annoy Dr. Weir, sir?" Ford asks.

"Disobey another direct order?" Rodney asks. "Overcompensate with a show of machismo by making another big explosion?" Sheppard flicks a grape at Rodney, who catches it and pops it in his mouth.

John says, "Saved your ass, didn't it? I didn't hear you coming up with a better idea." Turning back to Ford, he says, "What makes you think she was annoyed?"

"Oh, I don't know," Rodney breaks in. "Maybe the fact you were adamantly proclaiming that something wasn't your fault right before we left? So what was your fault this time?"

"It _wasn't_ my fault." John's voice is raised, but he lowers it before continuing. "It was shoddy craftsmanship," he mumbles. "I mean, how was I supposed to know that the base would come off like that?" He pokes a stick in the fire and stirs the coals. Teyla thinks his manner seems like that of a child trying to avoid bedtime. For the first time tonight, she smiles.

"Technically, I didn't break it. More like I... found the weak spot." John scowls a bit. "Elizabeth shouldn't keep that vase so close to her computer, anyway," he decides. He looks up to see Ford raise his eyebrow.

"You mean the one her grandmother gave her? The one that her great-grandfather made?" Rodney sputters. "Man, and I thought I was in trouble for stealing all the cotton swabs from Carson. What, so you knocked it over, right?"

"More like tugged and the top came off?" John offers. Rodney groans. John continues, "She didn't say she was annoyed."

"It has been my experience that Dr. Weir is too polite to be that forthright," says Teyla. Sheppard looks up at this. "Major, did you apologize to her?"

"It wasn't my fault!" he says.

"Yes sir, we heard you tell her that part," says Aiden, barely hiding a smirk.

Rodney adds, "Right before you sprinted to the jumper." Peeling a fleshy fruit, he ignores another glare from Sheppard. He says, "I'm sure that Elizabeth found that both apologetic and charming."

"Look, the base just kinda fell off when I was trying to show her the new gate security modifications," John says. "I didn't mean to break anything. It can be fixed, right?" Ford and Teyla share a look of amusement. Rodney glances sideways at Sheppard.

"It's not like I meant to do it," John huffs. "Just forget it. I'm going to sleep. Wake me up for my watch." He stalks over to his sleeping bag, rips down the zipper and climbs inside. Teyla doesn't let herself laugh, even when she hears John mutter something about glue.

~_~_~_~_~_~

"That's it?" Rodney says, looking more than a little annoyed. "We hiked all the way through Okefenokee and slept on the ground for 20 minutes of pattycake and a 'Yes, you can have whatever you want?' from these people? They were serving roast beef in the mess. Roast beef!"

Ford snags a clump of cherries from McKay's hand. "I don't think you starved," he points out.

"Dr. McKay, it is important to remember that good relations with people can go a long way," says Teyla. "We never know when we might need refuge from the Wraith."

"Whatever. I'm starving. Can we just go already?" McKay turns to Sheppard, who is staring off towards the center of town. "Major?" He waves his hand in front of Sheppard's face.

"Um, yeah. We'll go in a few minutes. I just have one more thing I need to do before we leave," says John. Before his team can react, he heads back into town.

"Should we go with him?" asks Ford.

"I think he will be fine," says Teyla. "Let's give him a few minutes. We have our radios, and I am not looking forward to being back in the marsh."

Rodney unhooks his pack and sets it on the ground. "Point taken," he says. "Do you have any of those chocolate pudding MREs left?"

~_~_~_~_~_~

When Sheppard returns with a bundle of sandy-colored cloth two hours later, they gather their things and trudge back to the jumper. Once there, Teyla catches her breath in the front while Ford unpacks supplies. Rodney readies the jumper as Sheppard heads to the back to change so they can get underway. He comes back out looking drier, if not more comfortable, and Teyla waves the other men to go ahead and take their turn.

"Major Sheppard," she says after he moves the jumper out of the planet's atmosphere. "You seem distracted this morning."

"Just thinkin'," he says.

"Can I help?" Teyla prompts. She is not sure that he will answer, but she wants to let him know that she is willing to listen. As the leader of her people, she knows that stoicism can turn too easily into isolation.

"Well, it was sorta along the lines that I'm not always so good with ramifications," he says. Sheppard looks up and waits for Teyla to respond.

"Dr. Weir is angry because you disobeyed her order, and you think she does not place enough trust in your command decisions," Teyla reflects.

John says, "That's part of it. But maybe it's I don't want to admit that I'm why things are awkward."

She nods. She knows his contemplation has been about more than a broken vase -- doing permanent damage to the command structure on Atlantis could have fatal implications. His realization of this fact is reassurance enough that he and Elizabeth will work things out.

The door opens and Ford asks how much longer to Atlantis. Teyla gets up as Rodney comes in and heads to the back to change clothes.

After wiping the majority of the grime from her body, Teyla looks around for a clean shirt and sees the package John carried with him from town. She sets aside her pack and reaches instead for the coarse cloth. Gently unwinding the material, she finds a stoneware vase fired with the colors of an Athosian sunset.

Teyla wonders later if Ford and Rodney saw the contents of the cloth. Prompted by his pleading look, all three of them back up the major when he tells Dr. Weir the reason they are late returning is because negotiations were more intricate than expected.

Teyla knows she is okay with the white lie the first time she sees the new vase in Elizabeth's office. McKay and Ford seem do not seem to object, either, as the issue never comes up in conversation.

And when Rodney fills Major Sheppard's pack with tubes of superglue on the next mission, Teyla lets herself laugh.


End file.
